russians go to the poll to choose their next president to govern the country for six years. this election should become russia's most transparent voting ever since the collapse of the soviet union hundreds of thousands of observers as well as light webcams are monitoring every single police station across the country join me live for all the details from outside the kremlin in just one minute. and in other news this week china calls for an immediate cease fire in syria warns against the use of humanitarian aid as a pretext to interfere in the country's internal affairs. and the e.u. states sign up to tough budget rules to stop overspending europeans rally against

harsh cuts in place to save the single currency. this is our tease with the news you welcome to the program but first the russians are going to the polls to choose their next president thousands of observers are monitoring the vote and thousands of newly installed web cameras are trained on the ballot boxes across the country. yes polling stations across all of russia's nine time zones have opened with us now to talk to us he's let's say air show scale let's see how has the turnout been so far. well the turnout so far has been higher than four years ago during the

previous presidential election in some regions in the far east the turnout reached incredible seventy percent of the population by now when to stand according to the central election commission that the overall turnout in russia has reached fifteen percent of the total voting population in the country some of the v.i.p.'s have already cast their ballots including russia's acting president dmitry medvedev and his wife also the main challengers for the presidential job in russia do not use a gun if the leader of the communist party has already placed his ballot as well as the dark horse of this election campaign russian tycoon mikhail gorbachev also voted early in the morning of the head of the liberal democratic party. last u.s. towns very little chance in fact according to many observers making into a possible second round of voting already also placed a ballot and certainly could not go without some eccentricity as it always has been

with mystery lawsky criticizing the booths of the polling stations for others being able to see what the person was doing inside so we are certainly waiting for the prime minister who is seen as one of the leading candidates to win this presidential race is the believing candidate in fact when this presidential race to cast his ballot somewhere during the day will certainly bring his pictures of him voting when he does that certainly it's very interesting race but if you have any doubts that but even if we didn't we'll win it the question is whether there will be a second round runoff on march twenty fifth if putin fails to get fifty percent of votes plus one vote that's gaining the victory in the very first right. and then let's say a lot has been done to make the most transparent today test it. certainly a lot has been done following the protests in december a billion dollars were invested only in putting the live web cameras at every polling station so that everybody can observe the election process hundreds of

thousands of observers but those are just ordinary citizens who just signed up to be observers at the polling stations as well as international observers are there at the polling stations to make sure no philosophy patients take place and my colleague actually did a report just explaining the run up to the selection and how transparent it could be. the first few years. we won't forget and we won't forgive this is what the opposition promised the kremlin after december's parliamentary elections they claimed the vote had been raked in response the authorities decided web cameras at all ninety eight thousand polling stations would solve that problem it's cost russian taxpayers over three hundred million dollars doubling the initial cost of the vote now it's officially the most transparent and the most expensive in the nation's history but not everyone's

convinced. cameras won't change anything there will always be discontent it was on is the for it without cameras. i don't think it would make a vote more transparent it's only made to please the opposition. so there was no sense installing them too many people are voting and there are too many polling stations who will make you things more complicated. one of the main concerns about the c.c.t.v. system is whether it can serve a country as vast as russia hacker attacks on the website introject broadcasting shortly before the vote only added to concerns but these young people claim they came up with a strong alternative the phone and tablet application older geo was created mostly for observers it allows them to upload pictures report on the turnout to give the final results and register any violations but the job would be recessed and published on the website immediately but we realize our web site might be attacked

on the ass by hackers but we're ready for any attack on our reserves are capable of dealing with serious traffic they're based in data centers in europe so we'll cope with processing information from observers and regular users to alter geo is independent from the central election committee and its founders promise to come up with reports just as independent new while it all five candidates had quarters it's been mostly about training observers this election also has set a record number of watchdogs almost a million including seven hundred international observers here. i was invited to this election doors open day it was good training for everyone we could see firsthand how c.c.t.v. systems work she transferred ballot boxes it will be the first presidential election in russia which not only will be filmed on hundreds of thousands of cameras but which has been rehearsed to a couple of days before the actual vote those who wish to take part were invited to

cast their ballots not for candidates of today but from history including alexander mccall don't ski peter the great winston churchill and. you know you clearly great twenty six year olds is only hours before russia's next peter the great is named but even before the ballots have been counted many war and other new wave of protests. protesters in december demonstrated not against the results of the vote but the fact that very different putin was swapping seats or irritated them was that putin was trying to return to the top job so regardless of how transparent the vote is if putin gets slightly more than fifty percent protesters will claim he added that up in self to avoid a second round to get seventy no one will believe the results the first exit polls will be released when boating in the westernmost city of kaliningrad comes to an end the question then will any of the candidates have that much needed eighty

percent to avoid a second round if they didn't actually r t is. certainly interesting times rush a lot has been speculated on life before and after the election and to talk about the economic aspect of it we're joined live by ed across the economist many thanks for joining us here in in rather cold temperatures in moscow my first question to you well obviously russia has not been touched by the financial crisis as have the united states and the european union how do you view the economic policies of the current people at our well i think they've done an extraordinarily good job if i look at what the central bank of russia did in two thousand and eight where there was a sudden withdrawal of credit outflow of western capital they managed to salvage the banking sector they managed to salvage the industrial sector and especially they managed to do with without bankrupting the entire country we see what's happened in

western europe where most of the southern europe is in really parlous really guess where the economic straits russia is now seen continued growth for the five percent a year so i think especially compared with one thousand nine hundred eight they managed to very very well but who else do you think can shoulder russia's vast economy i mean what i mean. like when he managed to build a fortune for himself can he do the same for the country should he become the better i'm sorry mr prohack girls was in the right place at the right time. i think the man has been extraordinarily lucky and if he can promise that he can bring his luck to russia then then then he'd be very welcome the likelihood of him being elected president of russia is simply complete but likelihood of my being elected it's not going to happen the fundamental problem is russia needs an opposition it needs serious loyal constructive opposition and for twenty years there hasn't been one i mean i remember the yeltsin years the opposition was fairly pathetic and right now it is it's not much better so it's still going to be putin for the

probably the next six years right president it has you know has been promoting modernization and going away from the dependency. our natural resources will disappoint you think will continue after the presidential election bush needs to modernize but it's going to be a slow process and what mr putin keeps saying is supposed to pena gradually we're going to see gradual change i mean i think russia also has to look at the australian model australia has is very rich and very comfortable exporting to china and i think this is going to remain the mainstay of russians economy not just oil but food stuffs grains agricultural products metals wars etc so the question has to move up the value added chain and it has to modernize but it's not going to happen overnight right and one more question for you well obviously the current leadership has been pushing for social and economic benefits for the people while in the e.u. for instance we see only more and more stories of measures isn't this

a sustainable policy during these rather harsh economic times well russia is coming out of the period of extreme poverty extreme dislocation and it is gradually becoming a more social state it is becoming a more european state and this is going to continue they cannot do it too fast but there is a demand from the street for more social support and it's some point this is going to cause a conflict as it has in europe but it's still a gradual the reform of the pension and the medical system and they're going to have to continue with that great many thanks for your opinion this was economist terry cross live with us here in moscow we keep following all the details related to the election and we'll be bringing all the life updates as soon as we get the new information. that well you can watch our special election coverage throughout sunday and monday as we bring you the latest figures on a variety of opinions across the political spectrum here and take us to that home is sharing you the vote section being cast as our web site streams live feeds from

web cameras installed polling stations. while you're on our web site and more about the five candidates running for. russia's top dog and what they're promising you find that and much more in our special election pages. other top stories of the week china has called for immediate ceasefire in syria to all parties to the conflict to engage in talks regime is also calling for unity in the u.n. security council which is now contemplating a new resolution after two previous ones were vetoed by russia and china beijing is also warned against the use of humanitarian aid as a pretext to interfering into syria. the red cross says it's different from western

areas of the city meanwhile fears of outside interference in the syrian conflict resurfaced one hundred suspected mercenaries and the french quarter in homs while trying to for me senior rebel leader also claimed his and they should have been supplied with french and american weapons for national. budget. but the borders those and state despite international isolation syria's borders have remained opened and easy to pass through and that may have played a crucial vote a limited resolution of the country's conflict almost immediately after the crisis began here last march there were reports of weapons being smuggled through to arm president al assad's opponents one thousand dollars for a truck full of weapons capable of delivering wholesale destruction and death that's how much al qaeda will pay to smugglers usually iraqi oil lebanese drivers according to ziad ismail chief of the customs service on the border with lebanon.

these people bring them here to destroy our nation to try to see. in people on the syrian territory enemies of drugs syria has more than two thousand kilometers of front cheer with five states israel iraq jordan turkey and lebanon the syrian cities where the most violent clashes have taken place homes and there are all over the in our of the border is a fact that some believe has determine their fate or destiny is this is one of three checkpoints on the three hundred fifty kilometer syrian lebanese border in the last year as we've been told here there were only three attempts to smuggle weapons across your business confiscated thousands of dollars dozens of guns and hundreds of clothes i have little metal pieces like this one used to make a world but the azores is main concern and their political close quote this one but

parts of the border where there isn't any security at all but here look at this in the middle of nowhere there is nothing only one road across the road right now and at the same time across the border and i'm already in lebanon. and further south she remains extremely vulnerable the city of daraa the cradle of the syrian uprising it all started here and it continues to play a role in the country's crisis with the border with jordan just several kilometers away from here and numerous reports suggesting that foreign governments and troops can easily flow through it has become one of the witnesses points in the country's security the city has become for scene of fierce and bloody clashes at least twice in the conflicts twelve months of history the authorities have claimed with many of the so-called free syrian army have in fact come from across the border. that they appear shoot and kill and then they disappear immediately they arrive from abroad

and they are not from jordan they use this country's border many of them are from africa. we're showing the weapons allegedly seized in military operations. in the army we don't have weapons from israel and america sniper guns and night vision binoculars advanced developed weapons we don't have it in syria this what we confiscated was killing innocent people and kill even more. while the international community condemns the al assad regime and supports its opponents many believe all sides in the conflict should be held responsible for violence across syria and with so many foreign investors involved it's clear that the crisis threshers far beyond these borders regional reporting from syria. troops and the regime are thought to be continuing to advance in the city of homs seen as the main stronghold of the opposition against president assad government claims it's

a mentor tackle terrorists and gangs the eyewitness told our target. audience from insurgents as well as troops wages being killed on the streets. first and it's horrible. i started out very. well on the diplomatic front u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton as compared to syrian president bashar assad to walk until the latest rhetoric comes despite a referendum on a new draft constitution a week ago after civil unrest in which the u.n. says more than seven thousand. of the syrian social club says the interests of the syrian people i mean overlooked in favor of the international community. we've noticed since the very start of this problem in syria that the west in general did not welcome and ridiculed actually every single reformist step that the syrian government promised to do or actually took all these steps were either not

mentioned at all by the international media or all pretty kewl somehow as being either too little too late or not sufficient or you know their credibility are not ok this is i believe to try to undermine the syrian government's commitment to more triple what the international community needs to understand is what syrians view on the ground is very different apparently from what everybody here is in the in the international media mainstream media and in that sense good people i wouldn't say totally united behind the current government but they view it as their best option so was not for the country not to collapse because everybody is afraid of what to come next should the central government collapses and that's exactly what's keeping this central government in its place and intact for the past year or so but still ahead joining the elite serbia is given the green light to join the new. broad

influential troubles who benefit from it's a close ally. present obama is caught between those for and against a military attack on a rug as a pizza's really gobby of action. after months of talks and confrontation unless they are united european union to sign the deal to prevent the block from overspending so-called fiscal pact supposed to enforce tough new budget rules but czech republic for the idea to rush to take. similar reports. it's been talked about for months claimed as a solution to europe's crisis fiscal compact for sky park the new fiscal rules after another two day summit this fiscal stability contract is signed sealed and delivered. mostly you leaders have agreed to give it the go ahead it's expected to be ratified by at least twelve years old nations this pact comes with tight

budgetary rules that must be strictly it here too or else face automatic sanctions member states must maintain a balanced budget or have a surplus keep a budget deficit of three percent or less enshrine the balanced budget rule of the national legislation within one year prefer within the constitution if budgetary targets are not met a guilty nation could be brought to the european court of justice and be obliged to make penalty payments the reins of strict budgetary oversight will be in brussels hands now we've in europe in brussels we've got our first saw and there's a bunch of stock and he's going to police all the bridges all the member states and these member states will lose sovereignty in the field of budgetary policy now is the population going to accept this. a population that's already been forced to accept one tough austerity measure after another all good could in the sniffles or

if you are doing austerity everywhere you go towards crisis everybody is no tackling because if we are cutting expenses everywhere then you crash in with the bodies consuming nobody's investing in the growth is the point of this truth is a continuation of true liberal orthodoxy. so we are exactly going back to what we have done in the last fifteen years. and numerous e.u. leaders see the budgetary discipline the civility pact is expected to bring as a step closer to solving be a result structural imbalances that help prices of countries ease their way out of their predicament but it's a one size fits all approach that has some worried about the impact it could have on healthier economies and could lead to huge piece school consolidation. so even those countries that have a healthier fiscal situation. would be better in school accounts which can

impress comic activity at a time when banks face problems and they're going to tell you want to and not a desirable scenario where the new buzzwords are growth and employment class are still your archie brussels. but ahead of the e.u. summit people in europe are opposed to fiscal union the deeper stairs he cuts imposed on them held rallies in belgium france and greece greek unions stopped work for three hours and marched into things protesting at the government cutting pensions benefits and wages scuffles with home building is one that will try to force his way inside a severe austerity measures were ordered by brussels international monetary fund to secure a second bailout worth one hundred thirty billion euros for financial writer feet a bill that says the trash injection is likely to save greece. people are of course talking about the probable need for a buy out and. the chance she is not guaranteeing anything as

a result of a very low q saying i can't guarantee we hope that it's going to work the opposition are saying you know it's her own policy her own lack of drive or lack of leadership that has left europe in this position people don't deny that of course greece shouldn't have been invited to join to adopt the euro when it did because it certainly didn't meet the criteria and nobody denies that probably greece would be better out of the euro zone unit that is what you see the issue is how do you get from within to outside. of this piety deepening financial woes in the e.u. countries are still lining up to join the club after three years of talks serbia has become an official candidate you membership of serbian history explained the question which says the benefits would be one sided in favor of brussels well great . they will not get any sort of. tribute advantages and even if it did it doesn't

have much of an economy to take advantage of them anymore because over the past four years under a militant the prove your government assuming economy is pretty much being dismantled completely it's not just he has pretty much been forced to surrender its claims of problems of kosovo that is currently staked out only on paper it is in force to have basically subordinate its foreign policy to brussels and to a lesser extent washington and now i've heard that there is talk from brussels about the necessity for serbia to revoke russia's most favored nation status it would treat it remains and only songes government supporters interviewed for between actually speak of the e.u. and you see i don't think anybody in serbia honestly expects the problems to be resolved by joining the e.u. especially after seeing their rights in spain and greece and ambled backstab about the euro. well look now at some other news making headlines around the world head

on a collision between two express trains in southern poland has left a fifteen people dead more than fifty injured some three hundred fifty passengers were on all the trains which were traveling on the same track committee that measures the workers and helicopters which for its structure and function didn't describe as the country's worst ever trained. muslim brotherhood in libya has created its own political party is the list ruthlessly led by a man who spent eight years in jail for the dark energy. russia suppressed for decades and whose extrusion i wouldn't expect to be illegal but didn't force action its children for whom its lists have won ballots in the wake of the arab spring of tunisia and egypt. north korea's leader has urged troops on the heavily on board of the south to stay on high alert from the frontline visit kim jong un's trip comes as the country priest threats against

south korea for its ongoing military exercises the u.s. going says their persons for invasion. and also sunday for the super rally in the city. debate over a possible military strike on iran is mounting in the u.s. and of president obama's meeting with israeli prime minister netanyahu television in washington suspect iran developing nuclear weapons but islamic republic says its program is peaceful while at the latest a visit by the un's nuclear inspectors to iran the international atomic energy agency says it could tell whether iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb iran has failed to cooperate the country's envoy to the i.a.e.a. some from me told r.t. exclusively he believes the agency is not impartial. we are warning that a couple of countries including united states is trying to run day agency so that they can dictate from washington what d.n.r.

should do and that is why we don't not permit such a thing to occur and that is the whole issue that the agency as a professional technical organization should do its work and that is why you see they make me so many noses here and there they do not let the agency to do its work and that is why we we want expect all countries including russia and others and i'm very proud please that last meeting in prague russia and china ambassadors along with a hundred countries of no man and woman all together questioned what had to happen in fact namely the least of confidential information that that we need the mobilization of member states to prevent something happening in vienna which did give away these agency from mrs sack you. know you can read the interview with iran's envoy to the u.n. nuclear watchdog in full on our web site r.t. dot com. to recap with the latest on the ongoing presidential vote in russia in the

weeks other major news just a few minutes. well the. pleasance technology innovation all the latest developments from around russia

we've. covered. british seinfeld's in. the free. markets. to. find out what's really happening to the global economy in these kinds of reports on. morning news today.